Soil cultivating apparatus

ABSTRACT

A soil cultivating apparatus  10  comprises a chassis  14  having an elongate spine  16  carrying support outriggers  18, 20 . The support outriggers  18  carry a first disc gang  30 . The support outriggers  20  are arranged rearwardly of the support outriggers  18  and carry a second disc gang  40 . A soil consolidating roller  38  or a soil consolidating press cultivator  42  is arranged between the first and second disc gangs. In one aspect ground-engaging tines  34  are arranged between the first disc gang and the soil consolidating roller or press cultivator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a U.S. national application of internationalapplication serial No. PCT/GB00/00408 filed Feb. 9, 2000, which claimspriority to Great Britain Patent Application No. 9902740.1 filed Feb. 9,1999.

The invention relates to a soil cultivating apparatus, particularly foruse in arable cultivation.

Traditional ploughing of land for cultivation is increasingly beingreplaced by soil cultivating devices which include discs and tines etc.Normally, several operations are required in order to prepare a fieldfor drilling with seed for the following season. Each operation requiresa further pass over the field which can disturb the effect of theprevious operation and also increases the unit cost of arable productionin terms of fuel usage and farmer's time. Particularly in places withunpredictable weather conditions the requirements for several operationsto be conducted on a field prior to seed drilling may, due to inclementweather, put back the date at which the ground can be planted with seed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form ofsoil cultivating apparatus.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a soilcultivating apparatus comprising a chassis, a first disc gang carried bythe chassis, a soil consolidating means comprising a roller carried onan axle on the chassis arranged behind the first disc gang, the rollercomprising a resilient material and being arranged to consolidate thesurface of the soil and a second disc gang arranged behind the soilconsolidating roller.

In that way the second disc gang operates in optimum conditionsattacking firmed soil.

Preferably, the soil consolidating roller comprises a plurality ofwheels, having tyres of resilient material.

In a preferred embodiment, the tyres are rubber tyres.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a soilcultivating apparatus comprising a chassis, a first disc gang carried bythe chassis, a soil cultivating means comprising a press carried on anaxle on the chassis arranged behind the first disc gang and a seconddisc gang arranged behind the soil consolidating press, the presscomprising a plurality of press rings, each press ring having twospaced-apart faces, a circular peripheral rim between the faces andhaving a larger diameter than the faces, and smooth sinusoidially-curvedsurfaces between the respective faces and the rim, the rim beingarranged to act into the subsurface of the soil while the curvedsurfaces consolidate the surface of the soil.

Ground engaging tines may be provided, preferably arranged between thefirst disc gang and the soil consolidating roller.

Preferably the disc gangs and soil consolidating roller are arrangedsubstantially symmetrically about the longitudinal axis of the chassis.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a soilcultivating apparatus comprising a chassis, a first disc gang carried bythe chassis, a row of ground-engaging tines carried by the chassisarranged behind the first disc gang, soil consolidating means carried bythe chassis arranged behind the row of tines and a second disc gangcarried by the chassis arranged between the soil consolidating means.

In that way all of the operations required to cultivate the soil andsubsoil can be achieved in a single pass. The first disc gang isoperating in firm soil conditions, which is the preferred form ofoperation of discs, to incorporate into the soil surface the remains ofthe previous years crop. The ground engaging tines, which are arrangedbehind the first disc gang cultivate the subsoil to provide a beneficialdrainage profile for the soil. The soil consolidating means consolidatesthe soil surface which has been loosened by the first disc gang andtines so that the second disc gang can also operate in a firmed soilprofile to complete the cultivation process.

Preferably the disc gangs, tines and soil consolidating means arearranged substantially symmetrically about the longitudinal axis of thechassis.

The first disc gang may comprise two rows of discs, one each side of thelongitudinal axis of the chassis, arranged transverse to thelongitudinal axis. The second disc gang may be arranged in similarfashion.

The first disc gang is preferably arranged so that the outermost disc ofeach row lies forwardly of the innermost disc. In such a case, thesecond disc gang may be arranged so that the outermost disc of each rowis arranged rearwardly of each respective innermost disc. In that way,the soil being cultivated is thrown outwardly of the longitudinal axisof the chassis by the first disc gang and returned inwardly by thesecond disc gang leaving a level soil profile.

The tines may be moveable from a ground engaging position to a positionclear of the ground. In a preferred embodiment the tines may be set tovariable heights between the ground engaging position and the positionclear of the ground. In that way different levels of sub soilcultivation can be achieved. The movement may be effected individuallyor as a set. Preferably the tines are moveable automatically in responseto an obstruction and in such a case a sensor is preferably provided forsensing when the tines have met an obstruction, for example a largesubmerged stone or an area of particularly consolidated soil.Additionally, the tines may be moveable by the operator of the soilcultivating apparatus, for example where no sub soil cultivation isrequired.

The soil consolidating means preferably comprises a roller carried on anaxle on the chassis. The roller may comprise a plurality of rubber tyredwheels arranged on the axle. Alternatively, the roller may comprise apress cultivator having a plurality of press rings. Most preferably thepress cultivator employs press rings of the type shown in our co-pendingBritish Application Number 9813497.6 and European Patent ApplicationNumber 98304976.8.

A further press cultivator may be arranged behind the second disc gang,either carried by the chassis or as a separate piece of apparatus.

The soil cultivating apparatus may be 6 meters in width and other widthsare envisaged, for example 3 meters and 4.5 meters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Soil cultivating apparatuses in accordance with the invention will nowbe described in detail by way of example and with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which;

FIG. 1, is a plan view of a first soil cultivating apparatus inaccordance with the invention,

FIG. 2, is a side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3, is a plan view of a second soil cultivating apparatus inaccordance with the invention and;

FIG. 4, is a side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In FIG. 1, a soil cultivating apparatus 10 in accordance with theinvention is shown being towed by a tractor 12.

The soil cultivating apparatus 10 comprises a chassis 14 comprising anelongate spine 16 carrying support outriggers 18, 20. The chassis 16carries towards a mid-portion thereof an axle 22 bearing a pair of roadgoing wheels 24. The axle 22 can be pivoted from a position where theroad going wheels 24 engage the ground and support the remainder of thesoil cultivating apparatus 10 clear of the ground to a position wherethe axle 22 lies substantially flush with the spine 16 of the chassis14.

The support outriggers 18 are arranged forwardly as the wheels 24 andthe support outriggers 20 are arranged rearwardly as the wheels 24. Thechassis 14 includes, at a forward end thereof, a trailer hitch 26 forattachment to a trailer bar 28 of the tractor 12.

The front outriggers 18 are arranged symmetrically about the spine 16 ofthe chassis 14 and support forward part respective left and right handparts of a first disc gang 30. Each part 30 a, 30 b of the first discgang 30 is arranged so that the outermost disc, ie the disc spacedlaterally furthermost from the spine 16 lies forward of the respectiveinnermost disc. The left hand part 30 a, as viewed in FIG. 1, isarranged slightly ahead of the right hand part 30 b of the first discgang and the innermost disc of the left hand part 30 a lies directlyahead of the innermost disc of the right hand part 30 b along the spine16 of the chassis 14. Viewed in plan, the first disc gang 30 forms arough chevron with the point of the chevron towards the rear of thechassis 14, in other words away from the trailer hitch 26.

The outriggers 18 also support respective left and right hand parts 32a, 32 b of a row of ground engaging tines 34. As with the first discgang 30, the tines 34 are arranged in a chevron, this time with thepoint of the chevron towards the front of the chassis 14. The row 32 oftines is arranged behind the first disc gang 30 and ahead of the axle22.

Rearwardly of the axle 22 there is an axle 36 which carries a pluralityof soil consolidating rubber tyred wheels 38. The axle 36 carrying therubber tyred wheels 38 is located ahead of the outriggers 20 on thechassis 14.

The outriggers 20 carry left and right parts 40 a, 40 b of a second discgang. In the second disc gang the outermost disc of each respective leftand right hand part is arranged rearwardly of the respective innermostdisc so as to form a chevron with the point towards the front of thechassis 14.

In that way, the soil which is thrown outwardly by the first disc gang30 is returned to leave a level soil profile by the second disc gang 40.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 1 a press cultivator 42 may be hitched tothe rear of the soil cultivating apparatus 10 to be towed behind theapparatus. The press cultivator 42 comprises a chassis 44 having alongitudinal part 46 carrying an axle 48 which bears a pair of roadgoing wheels 50. The chassis 44 further comprises a transverse part 52which carries two transverse axles 54. Each axle carries a plurality ofpress rings 56, most preferably press rings of the type shown in ourco-pending British Patent Application Number 9813497.6. The press rings56 on each axle are arranged with a space between each ring and the twoaxles 54 are arranged so that the press rings 56 on the second i.e.rearmost axle 54 are arranged directly behind the spaces between thepress rings 56 on the first axle 54.

In use, the soil cultivating apparatus 10 is pulled across a field to becultivated by the tractor 12. It is intended that the cultivatingapparatus is used to incorporate the remains of the previous seasonscrop into the top layer of the soil and to carry out completeconditioning of the entire soil and sub soil profile so as to replaceseveral operations with a single operation on the field. The first discgang 30 encounters virgin ground and turns the ground over toincorporate the remains of the previous seasons crop into a layer of thetop soil to allow it to rot and to incorporate its nutrients into theuppermost layer of the soil. Discs of the kind shown in FIG. 1 work bestin firm ground so it is preferable that those discs are arranged at thefront of the cultivating apparatus.

The tines then work at a much deeper level to promote a beneficialdrainage profile to the sub soil. That is done by breaking up deep clodsof soil and rearranging the clods so that they cannot easily resettleinto a configuration which is not conducive to drainage.

After the first disc gang and the tines have passed it will beappreciated that the soil profile is considerably looser than the virginground encountered by the first disc gang. Accordingly, the set ofrubber tyred wheels encounters the loosened soil profile and serves toconsolidate the soil profile into a firmed surface. In addition toconsolidating the soil profile the tyres serve further to break down theprevious crop which has been macerated and incorporated into the soilsurface by the first disc gang.

The second disc gang is arranged rearwardly of the rubber tyred wheels38 so that the second disc gang encounters a newly firmed soil profile.The second disc gang serves further to incorporate and macerate previouscrop remains. The first and second disc gangs are arranged so as tothrow the soil in opposite directions so that after passage of theapparatus 10 a level soil profile is provided.

The press cultivator 42 serves further to break down the previous cropand smash any clods produced by the discs 40. The press cultivator 42produces a soil profile which promotes early weed germination andprovides excellent weathering characteristics.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is substantially similar to thatshown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Parts corresponding to parts in FIGS. 1 and 2carry the same reference numerals. The soil cultivating apparatus 10shown in FIG. 3 is largely the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,comprising a chassis 14 having a central spine 16 with outriggers 18,20. The front outriggers 18 carry the first disc gang 30 and the row oftines 32. A road going wheel carrying axle 22 is mounted rearwardly ofthe tines 32. The second disc gang 40 is mounted at the rear of thechassis 14.

In place of the row of rubber tyred wheels 38, in the embodiment of FIG.3 a row of press rings 58 is provided and those press rings carry out asimilar function to the row of rubber tyred wheels 38, serving toconsolidate the loosened soil profile ahead of the second disc gang 40.The press rings 58 also act at a deeper level on the soil profile intothe subsurface of the soil to provide a soil profile optionally preparedfor the oncoming second disc gang 40.

As in FIGS. 1 and 2 a press cultivator 42, which is optional, is hitchedto the rear of the chassis 14.

The tines 34 in both embodiments described may be raised or lowered toan appropriate depth depending upon the soil type being cultivated bythe apparatus. In some cases, sub soil treatment is not necessary and sothe tines can be lifted from the ground completely. In other cases, thesub soil cultivation depth may be less than other soils so the depth canbe chosen by the user of the apparatus. Additionally, the apparatus maybe provided with a sensor (not shown) which determines when a tine ortines has encountered an obstruction, for example a submerged boulder,and the tines can be lifted automatically over the obstruction to avoiddamage to the apparatus. In such a case, the movement is effected bymeans of hydraulics. The tines may be arranged to be moved individuallyor as a set or both. In addition, it is envisaged that the tines may bemoved during transit upon initiation by the user of the apparatus sothat parts of a field which require sub soil cultivation can becultivated appropriately and the tines lifted out of the ground forthose parts of the file which do not require cultivation. That allowsthe most appropriate form of cultivation to be applied to each part ofthe field and also reduces the energy requirement and thus fuelexpenditure of the user by reducing the draft requirement of theapparatus for those parts of the field that do not require substantialsub soil cultivation. It is envisaged that the movement of the tines maybe linked to a location finder, such as a GPS system and an on-boardcomputer to control movement of the tines in and out of the grounddependent upon a previous mapping of the location.

The present invention provides an improved soil cultivating apparatuswhich, potentially, allows all of the soil cultivating steps required tobe carried out in a single pass over the field. Once the field has beenso treated, early weed germination is encouraged to allow lower gradepesticides to be used to kill off weeds in a single treatment in advanceof drilling the ground with seed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A soil cultivating apparatus comprising achassis, the chassis carrying a first disc gang, a row of groundengaging tines arranged behind said first disc gang, soil consolidatingmeans comprising a press carried on an axle of said chassis, said presscomprising a plurality of press rings, each press ring having two spacedapart faces, a circular peripheral rim between the faces and having alarger diameter than the spaced faces, and smooth sinusoidally-curvedsurfaces between respective faces and said rim, said rim being arrangedto act into the subsurface of the soil while said curved surfacesconsolidate the surface of the soil.
 2. A soil cultivating apparatuscomprising a chassis, the chassis carrying: a first disc gang, a row ofground-engaging tines arranged behind said first disc gang, soilconsolidation means arranged behind said row of ground-engaging tinesand arranged to effect consolidation of the soil across the width of thecultivating apparatus, and a second disc gang arranged behind said soilconsolidating means.
 3. A soil cultivating apparatus comprising, achassis having a set of transport wheels, the chassis further carrying:a first disc gang, a row of ground-engaging tines behind said first discgang, soil consolidating means arranged behind said row ofground-engaging tines, and a second disc gang arranged behind said soilconsolidating means.
 4. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim3, wherein said ground-engaging tines and said soil consolidating meansare arranged substantially symmetrically about a longitudinal axis ofsaid chassis.
 5. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim 3,wherein said soil consolidating means comprises a roller carried on anaxle on said chassis, said roller comprising a resilient material.
 6. Asoil cultivating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said soilconsolidating means comprises a plurality of wheels, having tyres ofresilient material.
 7. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim6, wherein said tyres are rubber tyres.
 8. A soil cultivating apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein said soil consolidating means comprises apress carried on an axle of said chassis, said press comprising aplurality of press rings, each press ring having two spaced-apart faces,a circular peripheral rim between the faces and having a larger diameterthan the spaced-apart faces, and smooth sinusoidally-curved surfacesbetween respective faces and said rim, said rim being arranged to actinto subsurface of soil while said curved surfaces consolidate surfaceof soil.
 9. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim 3, whereinsaid first disc gang comprises two rows of disc, one row on each side ofa longitudinal axis of said chassis and each row being arrangedtransverse to said longitudinal axis.
 10. A soil cultivating apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein said second disc gang comprises two rowsof discs, one row on each side of a longitudinal axis of said chassisand each row being arranged transverse to said longitudinal axis.
 11. Asoil cultivating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said first discgang comprises two rows of disc, one row on each side of a longitudinalaxis of said chassis and each row of discs being arranged transverse tosaid longitudinal axis, each row having an innermost disc and anoutermost disc, and said first disc gang is arranged so that saidoutermost disc of each row lies forwardly of said innermost disc.
 12. Asoil cultivating apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said seconddisc gang two rows of discs, one row on each side of a longitudinal axisof said chassis and each row being arranged transverse to saidlongitudinal axis, said second disc gang comprises an innermost disc andan outermost disc, and the outermost disc of each row is arrangedrearwardly of each respective innermost disc.
 13. A soil cultivatingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein said ground-engaging tines aremovable from a first (ground-engaging) position to a second positionwhere they are clear of the ground.
 14. A soil cultivating apparatusaccording to claim 13, wherein said ground-engaging tines are settableto a plurality of first (ground-engaging) positions of varying depths.15. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim 13, wherein saidmovement of the tines is effected individually.
 16. A soil cultivatingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein said tines are moveableautomatically in response to an obstruction.
 17. A soil cultivatingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein a sensor is provided for sensingwhen a tine has met an obstruction.
 18. A soil cultivating apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein a further press cultivator is arrangedbehind the second disc gang.
 19. A soil cultivating apparatus accordingto claim 18, wherein said further press cultivator is carried as aseparate piece of apparatus.
 20. A soil cultivating apparatus accordingto claim 3, wherein said roller comprises a plurality of wheels, saidplurality of wheels having tyres of resilient material.
 21. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said tyres arerubber tyres.
 22. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim 3,wherein said soil cultivating apparatus further comprisesground-engaging tines.
 23. A soil cultivating apparatus according toclaim 5, wherein said tines are movable from a first (ground-engaging)position to a second position where they are clear of the ground.
 24. Asoil cultivating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said tines aresettable to variable heights between said first (ground-engaging)position and said second position clear of the ground.
 25. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein movement of saidtines is effectable individually.
 26. A soil cultivating apparatusaccording to claim 5, wherein said tines are moveable automatically inresponse to an obstruction.
 27. A soil cultivating apparatus accordingto claim 5, wherein said soil cultivating apparatus provides a sensorfor sensing when one of said tines meets an obstruction.
 28. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said tines arearranged between said first disc gang and said soil consolidating means.29. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein saidfirst and second disc gangs and soil consolidating roller are arrangedsubstantially symmetrically about a longitudinal axis of said chassis.30. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein saidfirst disc gang comprises two rows of discs, one row on each side of alongitudinal axis of said chassis and each row being arranged transverseto said longitudinal axis.
 31. A soil cultivating apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein said second disc gang comprises two rows of discs, onerow on each side of a longitudinal axis of said chassis and each rowbeing arranged transverse to said longitudinal axis.
 32. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 3, said first disc gangcomprises two rows of discs, one row on each side of a longitudinal axisof said chassis and each row being arranged transverse to saidlongitudinal axis, each row having a innermost disc and an outermostdisc, wherein said outermost disc of each row is arranged to lieforwardly of said innermost disc.
 33. A soil cultivating apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein said second disc gang comprises two rowsof discs, one row on each side of a longitudinal axis of said chassisand each row being arranged transverse to said longitudinal axis, andwherein in the second disc gang an outermost disc of each row isarranged rearwardly of each respective innermost disc.
 34. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said soilcultivating apparatus comprises a further press cultivator arrangedbehind said second disc gang.
 35. A soil cultivating apparatus accordingto claim 18, wherein said further press cultivator is carried as aseparate piece of apparatus.
 36. A soil cultivating apparatus accordingto claim 34, wherein said first disc gang comprises two rows of discs,one row on each side of longitudinal axis of said chassis and each rowbeing arranged transverse to said longitudinal axis.
 37. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said second discgang comprises two rows of discs, one row on each side of a longitudinalaxis of said chassis and each row being arranged transverse to saidlongitudinal axis.
 38. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim34, wherein said first disc gang comprises two rows of disc, one row oneach side of a longitudinal axis of said chassis and each row of discsbeing arranged transverse to said longitudinal axis, each row having aninnermost disc and an outermost disc, and said first disc gang isarranged so that said outermost disc of each row lies forwardly of saidinnermost disc.
 39. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim 37,wherein said second disc gang two rows of discs, one row on each side ofa longitudinal axis of said chassis and each row being arrangedtransverse to said longitudinal axis, said second disc gang comprises aninnermost disc and an outermost disc, and the outermost disc of each rowis arranged rearwardly of each respective innermost disc.
 40. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 34, wherein saidground-engaging tines are movable from a first (ground-engaging)position to a second position where they are clear of the ground.
 41. Asoil cultivating apparatus according to claim 40, wherein saidground-engaging tines are settable to variable heights between the first(ground-engaging) position and the second position where they are clearof the ground.
 42. A soil cultivating apparatus according to claim 41,wherein said movement of the tines is effected individually.
 43. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said tines aremoveable automatically in response to an obstruction.
 44. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 34, wherein a sensor isprovided for sensing when a tine has met an obstruction.
 45. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 34, wherein a further presscultivator is arranged behind the second disc gang.
 46. A soilcultivating apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said further presscultivator is carried as a separate piece of apparatus.